‘Fair is not lovely’, Mukund hits out at comments on skin tone
After slamming racism in a strongly-worded post, India cricket team opener Abhinav Mukund has clarified it was not directed at his teammates but people “who have been posting abuses about colour and saying absolutely derogatory things about the tone of my skin. That s all !”
It was in reference to his outburst on twitter, slamming racism: “Fair isn’t the only lovely or handsome guys”, he had written late last night.
Mukund played the first Test of the series and got 81 in the second innings and shone at the short-leg position. He, however, lost his place to KL Rahul in the second Test.
In his emotional tweet, the 27-year-old Mukund had spoken about being targeted since his days as a young cricketer over the colour of his skin: “I have been travelling a lot within and outside our country since I was 15. Ever since I was young, people’s obsession with my skin colour has always been a mystery to me. Anyone who follows cricket would understand the obvious.
“I have played and trained day in and day out in the sun and not once have I regretted the fact that I have tanned or lost a couple of shades. It is simply because I love what I do and I have been able to achieve certain things only because I have spent hours outdoor. I come from Chennai, probably one of the hottest places in our country and I have gladly spent most of my adult life in the cricket ground.”
“With the rise of social media, it has gone to a magnitude that I see people hurling abuses left, right and centre at something I have absolutely no control over. Fair isn’t the only lovely or handsome guys.”
“Stay true, stay focussed, be comfortable in your own skin”
It led to conspiracy theories whether he was referring to the atmosphere in the dressing room, but in the morning he quelled the rumours by posting three messages, requesting not to turn his statement into something political.
“Guys please don’t turn this into something else,it has absolutely no connection to anyone in the team. It is mainly targeted at people,” Mukund tweeted, before continuing in another tweet, “Who have been posting abuses about colour and saying absolutely derogatory things about the tone of my skin. That s all !”
“Please don’t turn this into something political,I just wanted to make a positive statement hoping to make a change. That s all.”
Mukund had made his India debut in the West Indies in 2011. He was left in the cold after two Tests in the following series in England. He was recalled only in March. During the first Test at Galle, Mukund spoke about the anguish of being dropped from even the Tamil Nadu team.
“There was a point of time – I am very honest about it – that I was raring to even put on whites. I wasn’t part of any team, I wasn’t part of any firstclass team. There was a time when I was dropped from my own first-class team. To have this opportunity to be part of the Indian team is such a huge bonus. I take every game as an opportunity, that’s all. If I am part of the team, not part of the team, again, I will try to do my best wherever I am,” Mukund had said.